My son, while travelling, found this nifty collection of pre-Euro coins. He bought it for me, isn't that thoughtful? I love it!
The Countries that elected to have the Euro had 2 years to demonetise their currency. For example, Germany signed up for the Euro in 1999, their original currency was demonetised on 31st December 2001
Not all European (EU) countries are in the Eurozone, some elected to be EU members but not to be part of the monetry changeover. Their monetry status is the same as it always was, alongside non EU members, with exchange rates for their particular currencies.
They are treated as foreign outside of the Euro monetary membership. I have a lot. Plus various denominations going back to the middle ages. The oldest I have is 13th century JAIME I. (1213-1276 AD). Crown of Aragon. Obverse: ARAGON., bust of King Jaime, crowned and draped, left. Reverse: IACOBVS REX., cross of Caravaca, (Patriarchal Cross). 1 Denier (1/240th Libra), Billon. 1.09g. 18mm. Jaca mint, (1085-1340), Spain. CRU # 318. Apologies for going off subject @Wizank
Very nice! I understand the purpose of the Euro, but from a collector’s point of view it’s a shame that most of those countries no longer produce their own unique currencies. I kinda like the 2 Euro commemoratives and have brought home several from the EU countries I’ve visited, but the rest of the Euro coinage is rather ho-hum. By the way, seven EU countries chose (for now anyway) to not adopt the Euro: Bulgaria, Czech Republic (or Czechia), Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden. Here’s one of my favorite contemporary non-Euro EU coins:
It depends on the country as to which coins can still be exchanged for euros. Germany, Austria, and Ireland are the ones out of your set which are still exchangeable, although all are worth more as collectibles than as face value at this point.
